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Friday, May 01, 2009

A Westonbirt Day Out

This week Brit Boy and I have been hanging out together more than usual. Brit Boy had a vacation week, so we’ve been having a fun time. We also had our wedding anniversary this week, so it was celebration all around for us. On our first anniversary, we visited Paris and that was just amazing. I will have to share more memories of that in a future post. Then fast forward to this time around which we spent here around Wiltshire.

Monday and Tuesday of this week, we mostly did errands and took a trip into town. Then on Wednesday, we had beautiful weather, so we took advantage of it and went to Westonbirt Arboretum in Gloucestershire. It is a beautifully green and glorious garden and woodland that you can just wander around in and enjoy. You pay a moderate admission, but it’s worth it and the money goes to keep the place going. For the beauty and tranquility it brings, it’s worth every penny.

Westonbirt is one of the first places that I visited on my first trip here about six years ago. On that day back then, it was a windy, cold day in April, but on Wednesday, it was fairly sunny and warm. (smile) Westonbirt is one of my favorite places, so I’ll take it in any weather. I think that the reason why I like it so much there is because it reminds me of back home in Georgia. It reminds me of the woods back home, where I loved to wander and to see nature up close.

It was a nice drive there on Wednesday. When we arrived, we went ahead to have lunch since we hadn’t eaten. They have this food hall which is very nice and organic looking. It’s all wood and glass and reminds me of a renovated barn. You can sit inside to eat or you can go outside. But even if you eat inside, with all the windows it’s like you’re outside anyway. It has a great natural vibe. (smile) We sat inside.

We both had chicken, served with onions and vegetables for lunch. Then for dessert, we shared a piece of strawberry cheesecake…and let’s just say it was DIVINE!!! Here’s a photo that says it all…mmmm…it was so rich and delicious.

After we ate lunch, we ventured out for our walk around the grounds. Here are a few photos of our walk around this gorgeous and peaceful place.

Another thing that I love about Westonbirt is that they have plants and trees and flowers from all over the world. They take such good care of the gardens. They also give lectures there and concerts. There is a wonderful gift shop there too, filled with beautiful things of natural beauty. We decided to buy a little something to remember our visit by, as well as our anniversary. It’s a lovely little dish that we’ll place in its own little spot.

It was a wonderful day out. On the next day, we visited the market town of Devizes, here in Wiltshire. But I’ll leave that story for Brit Boy’s post today. So if you’d like, take a trip on over to his blog and check out the stuff we picked up at the market. Have a great weekend!

18 comments:

Hi! Enjoyed reading your blog as I stumbled upon it while looking for info about living in Wiltshire. I look forward to checking out the Arboretum :)I am also an American, and while we are currently living in London, my husband's job moves to Corsham in the fall. Any advice as to where to live in the area? Do you like Wiltshire?

Mike,Thank you. Glad you like the photos. You have a great weekend too :)

Cat,Glad you stopped by my blog. I hope that it can be helpful to you in your search for information. You should definitely check out the Arboretum. A fellow expat...cool :) Well, Wiltshire is really lovely and there are lots of nice places around here. The city of Bath which is just outside the Wiltshire border, is a beautiful place, but it can be a bit pricey. But the beauty is striking. It depends on what you're looking for because there are little villages, smaller towns, etc to choose from. I'll just list a few places to give you some ideas. There's Malmesbury, Swindon, Broad Town, Broad Hinton, Salisbury, Devizes, Marlborough, and an assortment of tiny villages to think about too. I hope that this gives you some places to think about. Please let me know if you would like to know more :) As for Wiltshire...yeah, I like it. I'm a countryside girl at heart since that's what I grew up with, so I enjoy that aspect of living in Wiltshire. And with the trains it's pretty easy to get into London. I hope this helps. Please don't hesitate to ask whatever else you'd like to know :)

Ivanhoe,Yeah, we really enjoyed our anniversary week together and that's exactly our thought...spending time together is what it's all about, not where we go, although Paris was wonderful ;) Brit Boy and I are easily amused, so just give us a lazy afternoon and we always have a load of laughs together :) Thanks for the anniversary wishes. Have a great weekend my friend.

Ms. Bar B,It was a good day. I'm glad you enjoyed our adventure :)Have a great weekend!

Tahtimbo,Thanks! Yeah, we had a good week and oh, my fellow foodie, that strawberry cheesecake was AMAZING!!!! It was so rich and so light and the strawberry was just infused throughout the cake. Okay, I'm through reliving the moment ;)

Mike,Thanks so much. I would love to see Balboa Park. I've got to get to California sometime soon. My niece lives there now and just loves it :)

Shucks Dori, just when I kicked back, with a tall glass of lemonade, ready to enjoy more of your time at Westonbirt, it ended. When I visit, I want to check out all of that beauty for myself. I'm heading over to your hubby's blog to see if he has more dessert photos and read about his experience too. :-)

Mountain Woman,So glad you liked the photos. It is so beautiful there and the cheesecake was out of this world. Thanks for the anniversary wishes :)

Jacqueline,Sorry that my Westonbirt post couldn't go on longer :) One day I'll have to share some more photos of the gardens there. You should definitely check it out and Stourhead, my other favorite place :) Thanks for the anniversary congratulations!

Se'lah,Thanks! Glad you liked my story and photos. And I'm glad you like visiting me. I love visiting you too :) So glad we found each other.

Lyn,Thanks! I'm glad that I could give you some good thoughts and memories of the countryside :)

Vchelle,Thanks! Our thoughts exactly...what better way to celebrate than being in the beauty of nature :)

Beautiful photos. They remind me a bit of the Kylemore Abbey & Gardens in Ireland. They had a lovely place to eat there with excellent food & the gardens were so peaceful & beautiful too. Thanks for sharing these photos.